Joel T. Adler, M.D., MPH
Joel T. Adler, M.D., MPH is an assistant professor of surgery in the Department of Perioperative Care in the Division of Abdominal Transplantation. He specializes in kidney and pancreas transplantation in both children and adults, with a particular interest in highly sensitized recipients and peritoneal dialysis access.
Adler’s research focuses on increasing equity in access to care for historically vulnerable populations through the use of technology, increasing the use of marginal organs and novel methods to improve the evaluation and waitlisting process associated with transplantation.
Prior to joining Dell Med, Adler was an assistant professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he served as the fellowship director for the Center for Surgery and Public Health at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and associate program director for resident research for the general surgery residency program.
Adler earned his medical degree with honors in research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and his master’s in public health from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. He completed a residency in general surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. He completed his fellowship in abdominal transplantation at the University of Wisconsin.
Gloria Chen, LCSW-S, CCTSW
Gloria Chen, LCSW-S, CCTSW is a licensed clinical social worker supervisor and certified clinical transplant social worker who is part of the founding team for the new kidney transplant program in Central Texas. She develops social work program policies and protocols and performs clinical transplant psychosocial assessments for transplant candidates and living donors.
Her research focuses on the psychosocial and institutional barriers in access to kidney transplantation in Central Texas.
Prior to Dell Seton Medical Center, Chen worked at Memorial Hermann Transplant Center and managed pre and post-transplant patients while performing research in psychometric instruments and health literacy.
Chen earned her Bachelors degree at the University of Texas and her Masters degree from the University of Michigan. She is a member of the American Society for Transplantation Psychosocial and Ethic Community of Practice and is the Education Co-Chair for the Organ Transplant Caregiver Initiative.
She has also served as a Research Committee Member for the Society for Transplant Social Workers since 2018.
Sean J. Upshaw, Ph.D.
Dr. Sean J. Upshaw is an Assistant Professor of Visual Information and Persuasion in Health Communication in the Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations in the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas-Austin.
He is a distinguished Edward Alexander Bouchet Scholar with publications in academic journals such as Health Communication, Patient Education & Counseling, and Journalism Studies.
Upshaw’s research interest consists of health disparity and communication in the context of visual information and persuasion. The primary focus of his research explores and explicates what/how/why underserved populations in the United States engage with health messages.
Upshaw earned his Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University of Memphis, and his Ph.D. from Howard University.
Currently, Upshaw is a member of the National Communication Association (NCA), International Communication Association (ICA), Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Media (AEJMC), and the Association of Medical Illustration (AMI).